DPDgroup has been recognised as the Service Provider of the Year and Norway Post won the Environmental Achievement of the Year award while the app Digital Mail Man emerged as the Last-mile Delivery Innovation of the Year at the Postal Technology International Awards ceremony at Post-Expo in Paris yesterday.
Winners were chosen across seven categories including parcel handling, digital, environmental delivery, last mile delivery, business development innovations and supplier and service suppliers.
This year, a major focus was placed on the automation of parcel handling, with posts facing the challenge of sorting an increasing number of parcels passing through the sorting centre, including various address label types and positions, sizes and shapes of parcels, and different types of packaging.
Another popular area for development was last-mile delivery. The postal operators and their suppliers have been developing solutions that give the end-consumer convenience and flexibility while providing increased transparency in their mail delivery. Developments in this category included apps that feedback important information from mailmen such as a misrouted mail item or a road accident, more flexible parcel locker solutions, and customer information applications.
Transformation was also an important topic at this year’s awards, especially in the Service Provider of the Year category, as the postal operators are reinventing their business to better respond to the needs of the growing e-commerce sector. Developments such as e-fulfilment platforms for SMEs, investments into parcel drop-off and pick-up networks and parcel sorting centres, are some of the highlights featured in this year’s shortlist.
DPDgroup turned out to be the winner in the Service Provider of the Year category, in a shortlist featuring Posten Norge (Norway Post), India Post, and Canada Post. The company now has 20,000 DPDgroup Pickup locations in ten countries across Europe, with its Predict one-hour delivery window service extended to 22 European countries in 2015.
Judges recognised DPDgroup’s double-digit increase of 21% in its B2C volumes during 2014, and its Hinckley hub increasing DPD’s UK parcel capacity from 800,000 parcels a day to 1.4 million. The award was accepted by GeoPost and DPDgroup chief Paul-Marie Chavanne.
Digital Mail Man has been judged as the Last-mile Delivery Innovation of the Year. Other companies shortlisted included Doddle UK, InPost’s Mobile Parcel Lockers, RAY by Welltec, Digital Mail Man by Prime Competence, MyParcelApp by T-Systems, and CleverBox 2 by Cleveron.
In the area of environment, Posten Norge (Norway Post) won the Environmental Achievement of the Year award, with nominees including United Parcel Service, Swiss Post and USPS.
In 2014, Posten Norge reduced its CO2 emissions by 30% compared with 2008 levels, and now has set itself a new target to reduce CO2 emissions by 40% by 2020. It has the largest electric fleet in Norway, with more than 1,100 zero emissions vehicles. Eco-driving training has helped reduce fuel consumption by between 5% and 15%, with the post’s environmental fund helping to achieve CO2 savings of around 6,000 tonnes.
The judging panel consisted of major decision makers within the world’s posts including DHL, La Poste France, Austrian Post, SingPost, Asendia, Canada Post, An Post, Swiss Post and Australia Post, among others.
